An Introduction to Visual Anthropology

An Introduction to Visual Anthropology Visual anthropology is an academic subfield of anthropology that has two distinct but intersecting aims. The first involves the addition of images including video and film to ethnographic studies, to enhance the communication of anthropological observations and insights through the use of photography, film, and video. The second one is more or less the anthropology of art,  understanding visual images, including: How far do humans as a species rely on what is seen, and how do they integrate that into their lives?How significant is the visual aspect of life in any particular society or civilization? andHow does a visual image represent (bring into existence, make visible, exhibit or reproduce an action or person, and/or stand as an example for) something Visual anthropology methods include photo elicitation, the use of images to stimulate culturally relevant reflections from informants. The end results are narratives (film, video, photo essays) which communicate typical events of a cultural scene. History Visual Anthropology only became possible with the availability of cameras in the 1860s- arguably the first visual anthropologists were not anthropologists at all but rather photojournalists like the Civil War photographer Matthew Brady;  Jacob Riis, who photographed 19th-century slums of New York;  and  Dorthea Lange, who documented the Great Depression in stunning photographs. In the mid-nineteenth century, academic anthropologists began collecting and making photographs of the people they studied. So-called collecting clubs included the British anthropologists Edward Burnett Tylor, Alfred Cort Haddon, and Henry Balfour, who exchanged and shared photographs as part of an attempt to document and classify ethnographic races. The Victorians concentrated on British colonies such as India, the French focused on Algeria, and the U.S. anthropologists concentrated on Native American communities. Modern scholars now recognize that imperialist scholars classifying the people of subject colonies as others is an important and downright ugly aspect of this early anthropological history. Some scholars have commented that visual representation of cultural activity is, of course, very ancient indeed, including cave art representations of hunting rituals beginning 30,000 years ago or more. Photography and Innovation The development of photography as a part of the scientific ethnographic analysis is usually attributed to Gregory Bateson and Margaret Meads 1942 examination of Balinese culture called Balinese Character: A Photographic Analysis. Bateson and Mead took more than 25,000 photos while conducting research in Bali, and published 759 photographs to support and develop their ethnographic observations. In particular, the photos- arranged in a sequential pattern like stop-motion movie clips- illustrated how the Balinese research subjects performed social rituals or engaged in routine behavior. Film as ethnography is an innovation generally attributed to Robert Flaherty, whose 1922 film Nanook of the North is a silent recording of activities of an Inuit band in the Canadian Arctic. Purpose In the beginning, scholars felt that using imagery was a way to make an objective, accurate, and complete study of social science that had been typically fueled by an extensively detailed description. But there is no doubt about it,  the photo collections were directed and often served a purpose. For example, the photos used by anti-slavery and aborigine protection societies were selected or made to make the natives more human and needier, through poses, framings, and settings. American photographer Edward Curtis made skillful use of aesthetic conventions, framing Native Americans as sad, unresisting victims of an inevitable and indeed divinely ordained manifest destiny. Anthropologists such as Adolphe Bertillon and Arthur Cervin sought to objectify the images by specifying uniform focal lengths, poses, and backdrops to remove the distracting noise of context, culture, and faces. Some photos went so far as to isolate body parts from the individual (like tattoos). Others such as Thomas Huxley planned to produce an orthographic inventory of the races in the British Empire, and that, coupled with a corresponding urgency to collect the last vestiges of disappearing cultures drove much of the 19th and early 20th century efforts. Ethical Considerations All of this came crashing to the forefront in the 1960s and 1970s when the clash between ethical requirements of anthropology and the technical aspects of using photography became untenable. In particular, the use of imagery in academic publication has impacts on the ethical requirements of anonymity, informed consent, and telling the visual truth. Privacy: Ethical anthropology requires that scholar protect the privacy of the subjects that are interviewed: taking their picture makes that nearly impossibleInformed consent: Anthropologists need to explain to their informants that their images may appear in the research and what the implications of those images might mean- and get that consent in writing- before the research beginsTelling the truth: Visual scholars must understand that it is unethical to alter images to change their meaning or present an image that connotes a reality not consistent with the understood reality. University Programs and Job Outlook Visual anthropology is a subset of the larger field of anthropology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the numbers of jobs projected to grow between 2014 and 2024 is about 4 percent, slower than the average, and competition for those jobs is likely to be fierce given the small number of positions relative to applicants. A handful of university programs specializing in the use of visual and sensory media in anthropology, including: The University of Southern California MA at the Center for Visual AnthropologyHarvard Universitys Ph.D. program at Sensory Ethnography LabThe University of Londons MA and Ph.D. in Visual AnthropologyThe University of Manchesters MA at the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology Finally, the Society for Visual Anthropology, part of the American Anthropological Association, has a research conference and film and media festival and publishes the journal Visual Anthropology Review. A second academic journal, titled Visual Anthropology, is published by Taylor Francis. Sources: Cant A. 2015. One Image, Two Stories: Ethnographic and Touristic Photography and the Practice of Craft in Mexico. Visual Anthropology 28(4):277-285.Harper D. 2001. Visual Methods in the Social Sciences. In: Baltes PB, editor. International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences. Oxford: Pergamon. p 16266-16269.Loizos P. 2001. Visual Anthropology. In: Baltes PB, editor. International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences. Oxford: Pergamon. p 16246-16250.Ortega-Alczar I. 2012. Visual Research Methods, International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home. San Diego: Elsevier. p 249-254.Pink S. 2014. Digital–visual–sensory-design anthropology: Ethnography, imagination Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 13(4):412-427.and intervention.Poole D. 2005. An excess of description: Ethnography, race, and visual technologies. Annual Review of Anthropology 34(1):159-179.

Dutch Schultz essays

Dutch Schultz essays Arthur Flegenheimer was born on November,6 1902 in the Bronx. His parents were both German Jews. Growing up in the Bronx, he early joined a local street gang for protection. He worked hard in order to make a name in the gang. He attuned public school until his father left the family. Then started working in different jobs, soon realizing, that he couldn't get rich and happy with common legal work. He began to go to the Criterion Club, were he made friends with Marcel Poffo, a local top criminal. He began gain Money form people who refused to pay Poffo, always trying to impress his mentor. At the age of seventeen he received his only sentence. He went to jail for 15 months for stealing. He tried break out and received another 3 months of jail. After his return to the Bronx be started to use the name he later became famous under, Dutch Schultz. By the mid of the 1920s he realized that bootlegging was the chance to make big money. He started to get involved into the beer business, as a strong arm goon, and later drove beer trucks in larger operations, of the legendary Jack Legs Diamond. At that time he and famous Chares Lucky Luciano were partners in Diamonds gang. In the beginning of 1928 Schultz was bar tendering, in the speakeasy of one of his old friends, Joey Noe. He gained a brutal reputation for is temper. Noe wanted him as partner for their own bootlegging business. Soon they were on their way to build a beer empire in the Bronx. They started to buy their own trucks, and in Frankie Dunn, a brewery owner in New Jersey, a reliable partner. As their business grew bigger and bigger they realized that they could improve the profits further if they also start to deliver the other speakeasies, as well. But many owners had their own little business, and refused to buy from Schultz and Noe. Schultz gave out warnings like: Buy it ore, else!, to those, who wou ...

Outline the key arguments of Plato - Analyze the above arguments given Essay

Outline the key arguments of Plato - Analyze the above arguments given Plato's main theses - Compare those arguments to Butler - Essay Example According to him, the difference between a man and woman is merely biological, whereby both sexes play certain roles during procreation. Consequently, this thought and understanding of gender as irrelevant prompted numerous intellectuals to conclude Plato was a feminist. Primarily, this is because of his argument regarding inclusion of women in assuming similar roles towards nation building without considering humanity’s biological discrepancies, which are beyond human intervention. Women ought to have equal say similar to their male counterparts, as per Platonic argument. This is because they are capable of delivering as necessitated besides talented enough to exceed society’s expectations (Jowett 106). Consequently, this prompted Plato among all other philosophers to emerge as the modern day’s democratic ancestor due to his perspective regarding female gender’s consideration into public affairs. However, in the execution of same duties or roles by both s exes, Plato seems to have a soft understanding concerning jobs’ allocation without giving a clear explanation. Thus, women and men guardians cannot tolerate similar severity of their respective jobs’ environment, whereby the latter’s environment is a bit tougher than the females’. ... Are there roles in the city that are particular to women and men because they are women or men? Besides Plato’s strong stand regarding gender irrelevance in the allocation of jobs and undertaking of diverse roles in the society, he admits that each sex has a responsibility to undertake. Mainly, these roles basis encompass biological differences where women, according to Plato’s arguments, embrace the role of mothers and wives. These roles are irrefutable, and nature dictates them to assume that course; hence, they are beyond human intervention. However, for other roles, especially those that encompass diverse city’s tasks, Plato emphasize consideration for gender equality. However, his argument did not imply he had in mind the position of woman in the society; instead, his intention was strictly to involve them in the kallipolis affairs. Plato’s perspective entailed women’s capability and not their liberation as it is with numerous contemporary femi nists. This is evident from Plato’s deprecating attitude towards women, which comprised his nature. Plato’s advocating of gender equality was a way of ensuring that justice prevails in all sectors where women will be able to contribute constructively. Why does Plato make the argument that he does? Plato’s main concern is to ensure justice and development in kallipolis with the involvement of both sexes. Thus, he deemed the authorities would prove to be fair via accommodating every person to contribute constructively in doing what one thinks he or she is proficient in. This is regardless of sharing or assuming similar roles like that of a guardian where the authorities should not discriminate women